Malachite (unusual / rare ''stalactite'' locality specimen)

Item Description

What a cool, interesting and incredibly hard to find specimen of stalactitic Malachite from the Tentadora Mine in Peru. I've done some research, and prior to this discovery, Malachite was not even been reported from this locality, so it's a big deal in my mind. This miniature sized piece hosts a pair of almost columnar groups comprising beautiful "balls" of dark bluish-green Malachite which are stacked on top of one another to create this beautiful overall specimen. The coolest part is that the center portion of the column is hollow, but not in the typical tubular shape you would expect, it's more geometric, almost as if the Malachite formed around another mineral which later dissolved away (Gypsum?) to create a beautiful "cast" (epimorph / perimorph) inside. If you collect secondary ore minerals, unusual morphology or if you just like interesting thumbnails, do not pass this one up. It came from a very limited find, and few were available. We haven't seen another crumb of it since the initial discovery.